Eight years ago, when Suzan and I were first living in Ecuador and working for International Living, a friend in Europe asked me to find him a life-sized statue of Saint Michael… San Miguel, as he’s known in Ecuador.
That search took me to a little town in the Ecuadorian Andes called San Antonio de Ibarra. It’s not much more than three or four long streets that run up a high ridge at the base of an inactive, cloud-wreathed volcano called Imbabura.
At first glance, San Antonio de Ibarra looks like any other mountain village in the Ecuadorian highlands…humble little houses strung chock-a-block along the streets surrounding a church and a main square under a bright blue Andean sky.
But in the backrooms and side yards of those little houses live the wood carvers of San Antonio de Ibarra. They’ve been producing saints, sinners, and other religious sculptures in the famous Quito School style for hundreds of years. Get inside some of these tiny homes, and you’ll find true master artists plying their ancient trade in shops filled with the heady scent of local cedar and ankle-deep with shavings.
You’ll also find some of the most beautiful classic religious sculptures in the world. San Miguel is a favorite subject, along with the Virgin of Quito, an exquisite figure sporting an extravagant starred halo and flowing robes, holding a chain that binds the devil’s serpent. Saint Cecilia, Saint Francis, and reproductions of Michelangelo’s Pieta are also common subjects.
The master carvers of San Antonio de Ibarra are justifiably famous for their work, which is why my friend requested his original Saint Michael from them.
So when he asked me a few weeks ago to locate another one for him, I knew just where to go.
When I told Isaac, my taxi driver, why we were headed for San Antonio de Ibarra, he suggested a stop at the home of a maestro that he knew. “He’s done many of the statues at La Mirage,” he said. This got my attention, because I’ve been to this five-star Relais & Chateaux hotel in Cotacachi, the town where I was staying, just 20 minutes from San Antonio de Ibarra. The sculptures scattered throughout La Mirage–like everything else in the place–are stunning. (How Jorge and Michel, the owners of La Mirage, chose the little town of Cotacachi for their magnificent hotel and spa complex is a story for another time. But every time we go there, Suzan and I are glad they ended up there.)
Isaac drove me from Cotacachi to the maestro’s home. The house was on a back street of San Antonio de Ibarra, blocks from the main square. Just inside the gate in the front courtyard, the maestro’s family sat piling bright yellow kernels of newly picked corn on sheets to dry in the sun. In a tiny upstairs workshop I met with the master himself, surrounded by a silent audience of saints, monks, archangels, Virgins, and other figures–all emerging slowly from fragrant blocks of red cedar.
From among his many small models, I choose a version of San Miguel with wings outspread, calmly standing on the Devil himself, pinning him down with a long lance. I asked for a finished statue about five feet tall and unpainted. (Most of the religious statuary from San Antonio de Ibarra is meticulously hand painted and lacquered. To get one “natural” means that more care must go into choosing the wood itself for the best grain and fewest flaws.)
The maestro said it could be done, but he’d have to go into the mountains to find the right block of cedar for such a large, unpainted piece. Once he had the right wood, he said, it would take six weeks to carve.
We bargained on a price, and settled on $1,500 for the finished statue. I confirmed with my friend, and he quickly agreed. As it turned out, this was exactly the price he paid for the San Miguel I found for him eight years before. So much for inflation in Ecuador.
I had just commissioned an original work of classic religious art in the traditional Quito Style by a master sculptor for less than the price of two nights in one of La Mirage’s best rooms.
When the statue is done, I’ll have the happy task of going back and approving the finished work. Then I’ll send my friend the latest addition to the world’s collection of exquisite Quito School sculptures by the master carvers of San Antonio de Ibarra.
I’ll let you know how it comes out.
Stay happy and healthy,
Dan Prescher
Publisher, International Living
P.S. Ecuador is rich with more than skilled artisans. It boasts unendingly friendly people…green valleys filled with flowers…dramatic expanses of sand on the coast…colonial villages…and more. With its year-round spring-like weather and affordable price tag, it’s easy to fall under Ecuador’s spell. Here the quality of life is excellent. And everything from original wood sculpture to homes on the beach cost a fraction of what you’d pay elsewhere. You can own a lot on the sand for as little as $40,000…and live comfortably in the colonial highlands for less than $600 a month. For all the specifics about why we recommend Ecuador as one of the world’s top retirement havens, listen in as our Ecuador experts share their on-the-ground know-how and money-saving advice in our Conference-at-Home Package, recorded at our Ultimate Event earlier this month and on sale through our special pre-press offer, here.
To read more IL articles about Ecuador, see:
Ecuador–the Best Climate in the World
